Windsor Assembly

Last updated
Windsor Assembly
Windsor Assembly Plant 1.jpg
The factory as seen in 2006
Windsor Assembly
Operated1928–present
Location Windsor, Ontario
Coordinates 42°17′48.9″N82°59′7.4″W / 42.296917°N 82.985389°W / 42.296917; -82.985389
Industry Automotive
Products Minivans
Employees4,123 (2022) [1]
Architect Hutton & Souter
Area177 acres (0.72 km2) [1]
Volume4,400,000 sq ft (410,000 m2) [1]
Address2199 Chrysler Centre
Owner(s) Stellantis Canada

Windsor Assembly Plant (WAP) is a Stellantis Canada automobile factory in Windsor, Ontario. The factory opened in 1928 and Chrysler minivans production began in 1983. [2] Windsor Assembly is Windsor's largest employer. [3] The plant currently operates two shifts with over 4,200 employees. [2]

Contents

Overview

The plant was designed by the architectural firm Hutton & Souter. [4] It covers 408,773 square metres (4.4 million sq. ft.) [2] on 50 hectares (120 acres) and manufactured the Generation I Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans from 1983 until 1991. The Generation II minivans, constructed on the AS platform was equipped with an optional V6 engine and in a new long wheel-base version. The Generation III (NS) minivan production began in 1995 with dual sliding doors. Starting in July 2000, the Generation IV (RS) minivan, which included the Stow'n Go seating, was produced until July 2007. In August 2007, the Generation V (RT) minivan was introduced which continues with the Stow 'n Go and features the new Swivel'n Go seating. The current Chrysler Pacifica (RU) minivan, that replaced the Chrysler Town & Country, entered production in 2016 for the 2017 model year and includes both gasoline engine and plug-in hybrid versions.

In March 2019, FCA Canada announced it would cut the third shift at Windsor Assembly, eliminating 1,500 jobs. [5] Although the third shift was initially scheduled to end in September 2019, it was extended multiple times. The third shift finally ended on July 10, 2020. [6]

Production of the Dodge Grand Caravan ended August 21, 2020 as FCA moves retail and fleet customers to the new entry-level Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Grand Caravan. [7]

Vehicles produced

Current

Past

Windsor Assembly assembled many vehicles before the plant was converted in 1982 for the production of the Minivan. Although the vehicle has had many names under different brands, the minivan has always been built at WAP. A deal with Volkswagen resulted in the plant assembling the Routan (RM) on the same platform as the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country models in August 2008. Production lasted until 2013.

With the closure of Windsor Assembly's sister plant, Saint Louis Assembly, in Fenton, Missouri in October 2008, WAP started producing the right-hand drive and diesel versions for the world market in August 2009 for the 2010 model year under the Chrysler nameplate and eventually the Lancia Voyager.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth (automobile)</span> Defunct American automobile brand

|

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Caravan</span> Series of minivans made by Chrysler

The Dodge Caravan is a series of minivans that was manufactured by Chrysler from the 1984 to 2020 model years. The Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans, the Caravan was marketed as both a passenger van and a cargo van. For 1987, a long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan was introduced. Produced in five generations across 36 model years, the Dodge Caravan is the second longest-lived Dodge nameplate.

Stellantis Canada is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell-Chalmers plant in Windsor, Ontario that had been used to manufacture some Chrysler models in the previous year. Initially called Chrysler Canada, Ltd, the name of the company changed to DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. following the merger of the two parent automotive conglomerates. In August 2007, the company was renamed Chrysler Canada Incorporated when Cerberus Capital Management purchased 80.1% of its parent company Chrysler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans</span> Motor vehicle platform

The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler since the 1984 model year. Currently in its sixth generation, the model line is marketed worldwide, primarily in North America and Europe. Introduced as the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, the Chrysler minivans have been marketed under a variety of nameplates under the Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, and Ram brands; through the use of rebadging, the model line has also been marketed under the Lancia and Volkswagen brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Voyager</span> Passenger cars produced by Chrysler

Plymouth Voyager is a nameplate for a range of vans that were marketed by the Plymouth division of Chrysler. From 1974 until 1983, the Voyager was a full-size van, sold as the counterpart of Dodge Sportsman. Starting with the 1984 model year, the Voyager was marketed as one of the new Chrysler minivan, along with the Dodge Caravan. As a minivan, there were three generations of the Voyager from 1984 until 2000. Following the closure of the Plymouth division in 2000, the Voyager was marketed under the Chrysler brand as a lower-trim version of the Chrysler Town & Country through 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Voyager</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Voyager is a minivan produced by the Chrysler division of Stellantis. In the current lineup, it is positioned as the lower-end Chrysler minivan, having replaced the Dodge Grand Caravan in 2020, below the Chrysler Pacifica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Town & Country (minivan)</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Town & Country is a minivan that was manufactured and marketed by Chrysler from 1990 to the 2016 model years. The third Chrysler minivan introduced in North America, the Town & Country adopted its nameplate from the flagship Chrysler station wagon line, adopting its exterior woodgrain trim as a design feature for several generations.

Saint Louis Assembly was a Chrysler automobile factory in Fenton, Missouri. The "South" plant opened in 1959, while the "North" portion opened in 1966. The Saint Louis Factory was built to accommodate Chrysler's new Chrysler B platform allowing the company to build subcompact vehicles. Saint Louis North was the home of minivan production from 1987 through 1995, when it was converted to build the Dodge Ram pickup truck. Minivan production was switched to the South plant, which had been shut down since 1991, in 1995 and continued there through the 2007 model year.

Brampton Assembly Plant is a Stellantis Canada automobile factory located at 2000 Williams Parkway East Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Originally built by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for US$260 million, in the former Bramalea area of Brampton, the manufacturing plant was specially designed for building the Eagle Premier. Its role since has primarily been to assemble full-sized Chrysler products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler SOHC V6 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The single overhead cam V6 engine introduced in 1993. It was derived from Chrysler's first homegrown front-wheel drive V6, the Chrysler 3.3 engine. The SOHC V6 has been replaced by the Chrysler Pentastar engine.

The Ultradrive is an automatic transmission manufactured by Chrysler beginning in the 1989 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Pentastar engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Chrysler Pentastar engine family is a series of aluminium dual overhead cam 24-valve gasoline V6 engines introduced for the 2011 model year in Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles. The engine was initially named "Phoenix," but the name was changed before the official launch due to a trademark conflict; the Pentastar name is derived from the trademark of the former Chrysler Corporation, which dates back to 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen Routan</span> Motor vehicle

The Volkswagen Routan is a seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform, with revised styling, content features, and suspension tuning from the fifth-generation Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Pacifica (minivan)</span> American minivan built by Chrysler

The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan produced by the Chrysler division of Stellantis. It is unrelated to the discontinued crossover and concept vehicles by the same name and replaced the Chrysler Town & Country for the 2017 model year. It is positioned as the higher-end Chrysler minivan, above the Dodge Grand Caravan until 2020 and above the Chrysler Voyager since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans (S)</span> Motor vehicle platform

The first-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans produced and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from the 1984 to the 1990 model years. Introduced as the first minivans from an American-brand manufacturer and popularizing the minivan as a vehicle, the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager were launched ahead of chief competitors Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari and Ford Aerostar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans (RS)</span> Motor vehicle

The RS-platform Chrysler minivans are a short- and long-wheelbase passenger minivans marketed by Chrysler from model years 2001–2007, as the fourth generation Chrysler minivans, heavily revised versions of their predecessors, the NS minivans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans (AS)</span> Motor vehicle

The second-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that were manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Corporation in North America and Europe from 1991 to 1995. Officially designated the AS platform by Chrysler, the second-generation minivans were an extensive revision of the first-generation chassis and body. As before, passenger and cargo configurations were sold by Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler divisions. The first minivans offered with driver-side airbags and with optional integrated child safety seats, the second-generation Chrysler minivans offered all-wheel drive as an option for the first time; a manual transmission would be offered for the last time in the North American market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans (NS)</span> Motor vehicle

The third-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of passenger minivans that were marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from the 1996 to 2000 model years. The first ground-up redesign of the model lines since their introduction, designers added a further degree of divisional identity between the Plymouth Voyager, Dodge Caravan, and Chrysler Town & Country. In a notable change, the cargo van was discontinued, with all examples sold as passenger vans. Coinciding with the retirement of the Plymouth brand during 2001, this is the final generation marketed as the Plymouth Voyager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler minivans (RT)</span> Series of minivans made by Chrysler

The RT-platform Chrysler minivans are a series of passenger minivans marketed by Chrysler starting in model year 2008, the fifth in six generations of Chrysler minivans. Depending on the market, these vans were known as the Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler Grand Voyager, Lancia Voyager, Ram Cargo Van, and the Volkswagen Routan, a modified version sold by Volkswagen in North America. Only long wheelbase models were offered with the Dodge Journey replacing the short wheelbase model. While most versions were discontinued in 2016 with the launch of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the Grand Caravan remained in production until 2020. It was replaced by the sixth generation Chrysler Voyager, a new entry-level model based on the existing Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

Chrysler is an American brand of automobiles and division owned by Stellantis North America. The automaker was founded in 1925 by Walter Chrysler from the remains of the Maxwell Motor Company. The brand primarily focused on building luxury vehicles as the broader Chrysler Corporation expanded, following a strategy of brand diversification and hierarchy largely adopted from General Motors.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Windsor Assembly on Stellantis NA
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Stellantis Media - Windsor Assembly Plant". Stellantis North America. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  3. "Local Companies | WEEDC - Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation". choosewindsoressex.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  4. Ohrnberger, Klaus H.; Marzotto, Tito R. (August 2016). "Transforming a Historic Auto Plant". Structure.
  5. "FCA Canada to stop third shift at Windsor Assembly Plant, cutting 1,500 jobs". Windsor Star. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  6. "Some workers leave Windsor Assembly Plant as retirees after FCA ends third shift". CBC News. 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  7. "Last Dodge Grand Caravan rolls off the line at Windsor Assembly Plant". CTV News. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-21.